In Vevey, Switzerland, in 1866, Henri Nestlé, a trained pharmacist, developed a pioneering cereal-based milk food for babies.
Henri Nestlé recognized a need in society and applied the latest scientific findings to develop a suitable product to combat the raging infant mortality prevalent at the time. He began experimenting with various combinations of cow's milk, wheat flour and sugar in an attempt to develop an alternative source of infant nutrition for mothers who were unable to breast feed. Crucially, the starch and acid had to be removed from the flour to make it easier for babies to digest.
He used top-grade Swiss milk to make a concentrated milk and flour baked into a hard biscuit which he ground and mixed with the milk before drying into the final product. He called his new product Farine Lactée.
In 1867 he launches his ‘Farine Lactée’ to market in the small Swiss town of Vevey. “Farine Lactée” was heavily marketed as a healthy food for infants, alongside the claim that it had saved the life of a baby whose mother was unable to breastfeed him.
His small business thrived, particularly after 1905 when it merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co., founded by the Page brothers in 1866 in Cham (Switzerland) and became a large, successful company that still proudly bears the name of its founder.
By 1918, thanks to increased dairy demand from government, Nestlé had 40 factories worldwide.
Henri nestle and infant formula
